Records of Rebirth

Chapter 191 - A New Kind Of Captain

Just when Arsinoe thought things couldn't go more wrong, Ophelia surged forward with a sudden burst of speed, knocking the tiny creature mid-air with her feathery wing, making her drop something. 

And soon a wine coloured fruit rolled down from the air, coming to a stop next to her.

Arsinoe stared blankly at it, just as Ophelia swooped down from the air, landing with a great rush of wind.

The tiny fairy was gripped lightly between her feathers, and she saw the tiny creature giggling as she poked her head through, and then tried to lift the fluffy feathers away, before being covered by yet another feathery wave.

It seems they were on good terms. 

[Arsinoe! I heard you were released.] Ophelia breathlessly gushed as she saw her. [Why didn't you come up to see us? We were waiting for you.]

That made Arsinoe perk up.

[I was about to.]

She'd meant to come quickly but had gotten distracted.

After realising Ophelia wanted to talk more, her team members excused themselves and returned to training.

The dark fae poked her head out once more, peeking out at her, before dashing towards the fallen fruit, but Ophelia swiftly covered it up with her wing, making the tiny creature fall into her wing once more.

The dark fae emerged, frowning and sulking, which only made Ophelia laugh, the ringing a rather delicate sound.

Arsinoe on the other hand was annoyed – why was Ophelia being so casual to this foreign bug?

She slithered forward, intending to knock away the fruit, but in the process Ophelia's wings brushed over her, and for a brief moment, she found herself wrapped in it. 

It was soft.

Perhaps the fluffiest thing she had ever felt, and her annoyance quickly vanished like smoke. 

[Typhon told me he wishes to make you a Captain.] Ophelia turned to her. [I think its about time.]

Really?

Arsinoe looked up at the large snake, eager to hear more.

But then she realised she was on top of her feathers, which was probably painful for her so she immediately leapt off it like it was hot coal.

However Ophelia, who was playfully teasing the dark fae, didn't seem to mind.

[It's been so busy here – I feel like I haven't seen you in forever. I really should have visited more, how are you feeling?]

Hm? The usual Arsinoe would have said something.

But... how was she feeling? She had no idea.

She hadn't had any conflicting thoughts in a while.

[I guess I'm fine.] she answered, although she had never seen this caring side of Ophelia before and was mildly confused by all of her happiness and joy.

Was it because she evolved and was no longer stressed about being left behind? 

[That's really good. If you ever want to talk, I'm here for you.]

Who was this, and what had she done with Ophelia?

[Er…]

But then the sight of a dishevelled looking creature made her yelp. And she felt a searing pain in her head, as a wave of nonsense rambling filled her head.

[Kyaa!] The dark fae squealed. [I've never spoken to you before. Uww you're so cute.]

Ugh. What was this? It was so loud!

[Get away from me!] Arsinoe screamed and leapt away from the chattering creature, but the sound of her voice refused to go away, no matter how far away she went.

[She's just saying hello.] Ophelia chuckled, her feathers coming up to stroke her head.

Arsinoe grimaced in annoyance, and she hissed at the chattering creature.

But the tiny creature rushed over to her, stuffing something sweet into her mouth, before she could evade it. 

It was a piece of fruit…and it was good.

Her taste buds filled with a sweetness combined with a tingling sensation of ice in her mouth, that left her terribly confused.

[Don't do that!] Arsinoe heard Ophelia scolding the dark fae. [She hasn't had it before.]

And then she heard Morgana's loud laughter ring out, forcing her to seek out her nemesis.

She was on the platform with Galahad and they were both snickering as they stared at her, making Arsinoe explode with anger.

Those fiends!

But why was it so cold?

She was so unused to the taste of the strange fruit that she shivered terribly, and this made Morgana laugh some more.

Arsinoe once again had the lingering feeling that she was being mocked by everyone, especially Morgana, and to shield her Ophelia covered her with her wing.

[Ignore them.] Ophelia said to comfort her, and the dark fae rushed over to apologise, but it did not erase the feeling.

Instead Arsinoe shrugged off her feathery shield.

[Stop treating me like a hatchling. I don't care if she laughs.]

Ophelia looked a little sad, but she did so anyway. [I'll have a word with Morgana, she has to stop this.]

Arsinoe tried not to care, Typhon was waiting to make her captain anyway.

And soon Morgana would have nothing to say, but she still had her doubts.

[Do you want me to bring you up?] Ophelia asked.

She wanted to give her a ride on her back, but Arsinoe found that even more embarrassing.

And so she quickly told Ophelia she would come up on her own, watching the feathered serpent take off, with the dark fae eagerly waving goodbye.

Her body raged with fury as she looked up at the platform, past the sinister Morgana, and the innocent Galahad, to settle on the culprit of all the chaos. 

The mirrored serpent known as 'her'. 

She quietly marched towards gathered snakes, fully intent on confronting her. 

However, once she was up on the platform, the atmosphere was very different.

The purple creature seemed to be taking a nap, and as Ophelia returned to her side, the dark fae left her to settle on 'her' head. But once Arsinoe arrived, Typhon nudged her awake and they both discussed something briefly. 

She was still annoyed by Morgana's laughter, but with Typhon present, she knew she had to be on her best behaviour.

And so she settled for glaring at her nemesis from afar.

How unfair was it that she couldn't throw her down to the pit like she wanted to?

But after some discussion, Typhon spoke to her.

[We've all agreed to make you Captain, but 'she' wants to know why you want it?]

Ah. So this was the dreaded test.

Arsinoe expected as much, and she was ready with some good examples.

The nestlings were unsupervised for the most part, leading them to making irrational choices, because why else would Apollo carry on with his weird hobby without a fear of reproach? And Artemis who should have reprimanded him, was exactly the same as him.

And she suggested they needed a captain to oversee everyone, while enforcing specific rules within the cave, to prevent everything from spiralling out of control, and to stamp out irresponsible behaviour.

While she brought up the shocking issues in the cave, she saw Morgana looked enraged.

She had indirectly brought up instances of Morgana belittling others, including herself, and Ophelia's lack of focus during her stint as leader.

But while Ophelia acknowledged her mistakes and didn't argue, Morgana was unrepentant and tried to object, making Typhon shut her up with a glare. 

Morgana fell silent and returned to her place, and Arsinoe was elated.

That was fun.

[I'll have to speak to Artemis and Apollo.] Typhon said. [But I'm glad you brought this up. Are there any other problems you noticed?]

Arsinoe couldn't think of anything else right now, and so she shook her head.

Typhon gave her a look of acknowledgement, before proceeding to speak to 'her' and Arsinoe could feel Morgana's eyes boring holes into her body.

It served her right for acting like she owned everything, and Arsinoe was glad justice was being served. 

However, she wasn't exactly sure what 'she' thought.

While Typhon spoke to her, 'she' remained mostly silent. The only activity around her being the tiny, dishevelled creature buzzing around them both.

But in the end 'she' agreed to make her captain, although it was not in the traditional sense.

She would not get her own team, until the cave had more members, and so she would continue to hunt with Artemis, but she would have just as much of a leadership role as he did.

And then, Typhon went on to make an announcement to the whole cave.

According to her new role as an enforcer, she would also be able to command any nestling irrespective of which team they belonged to and make them get in line if she ever found them at fault – and this was surprising for her to hear.

She looked down from the platform, at the nestlings that had stopped training to hear what was being said and each one was looking up at her with admiration and some envy – all because of this new authority she had.

Arsinoe thought that their leader who had agreed to such a thing was rather interesting. She'd gone from the least powerful, to someone with plenty of authority in an instant, surpassing Morgana, and to be almost on par with Typhon.

It was amazing.

And although there was still a lot to be improved, she felt it would be wrong to complain about 'her' judgement. 

Instead, Arsinoe turned to Morgana, fixing her with her most defiant look.

She did not fail to notice she was also on a higher point of the platform than her nemesis and after an intense staring match, Arsinoe eventually looked away. 

However, she made sure to settle down close to Ophelia's soft wings to watch Morgana seethe with rage.